Palladium carbonylative transformations

Palladium-catalysed coupling reactions under carbon monoxide have been extensively used in traditional medicinal chemistry72. Despite this, these crucial transformations have hardly been employed in combinatorial chemistry. These shortcomings have recently been recognised and a series of microwave-heated carbonylative transformations with solid or liquid CO-sources have been reported. 

The examples of oxidative carbonylations of alkynes were reported on in 1964. Here, Tsuji et al. described the palladium-mediated transformation of acetylene into muconyl chloride, fumaryl and maleic acid chloride (Scheme 8.15) [77]. Later on, they used diphenylacetylene as a substrate for the synthesis of lactones in the presence of alcohol and HCl [78, 79]. 

Several methodologies based on the carbonylation of aryl triflates were developed and applied in the synthesis of bio-active molecules [62-70]. They all use a palladium-catalyzed carbonylative transformation of aryl triflates as the key step to preparing intermediates oxopropaline, phenylglycines and phenylalanine were prepared (Scheme 10.10). 

A highly interesting synthetic route for forming intermediates en route to retinal and their analogues involves a palladium-catalyzed transformation of an yne-carbo-nate 888 into an aUenyl enal 889. The carbonate 888 is generated by unsymmetrical carbonylation of propargylic alcohol 886 and silyl enol ether 887 with phosgene [647]. 

During the end of the 20th century, Shim and co-workers developed a series of palladium-catalyzed carbonylative transformations of 2-bromo benzaldehydes with different nucleophiles. With the same catalyst system, 3-substituted phthalides were produced ingood5delds (Scheme 2.161). ... 

Since palladium complexes have proven to be efficient in activating diboron compounds throughout transmetalation, a wide range of applications have been considered in the last decade, such as palladium-catalyzed transformation of aUyhc alcohols to allylboronates, borylation of allylic hahdes or aUyhc acetates, and the P-boration of a,P-unsaturated carbonyl substrates.Interestingly, both palladium and nickel showed to be similarly efficient to activate B2pin2 and catalyze the addition to unsaturated substrates. Oshima postulated that Ni(0) species react with substrate a,P-unsaturated esters and amides to generate the r -coordinated complex, which activates the B2pin2 to favor the formation of T -coordinated... 

Carbonylation reactions encompass a diverse set of transformations used to synthesise many important high-value fine chemicals, synthetic intermediates and materials such as polycarbonates [36]. Palladium catalysts modified with PRj ligands facilitate these reactions. However, carbonylation often requires harsh conditions, especially for less reactive C-X bonds, thereby promoting catalyst degradation via P-C bond cleavage. The strength of the NHC bond may demonstrate the utility of... 

The study on 2,7-di-rerf-butylthiepin has recently been extended to explore more simply substituted thiepins 58). The palladium-catalyzed reaction of the diazo compound 107 lacking a 4-methyl substituent gives exclusively the exo-methylene compound 108 whereas the acid-catalyzed reaction of the same precursor 107 resulted in the formation of 2,7-di-/er/-butyl-4-ethoxycarbonylthiepin (109)58). Due to the substantial thermal stability of 109 it is possible to transform the ethoxy-carbonyl group into the hydroxymethyl (110), trimethylsilyloxymethyl (111) and formyl group (112)58). 

Extension to carbocyclization of butadiene telomerization using nitromethane as a trapping reagent is reported (Eq. 5.48).72 Palladium-catalyzed carbo-annulation of 1,3-dienes by aryl halides is also reported (Eq. 5.49).73 The nitro group is removed by radical denitration (see Section 7.2), or the nitroalkyl group is transformed into the carbonyl group via the Nef reaction (see Section 6.1). 

Palladium(II) acetate was found to be a good catalyst for such cyclopropanations with ethyl diazoacetate (Scheme 19) by analogy with the same transformation using diazomethane (see Sect. 2.1). The best yields were obtained with monosubstituted alkenes such as acrylic esters and methyl vinyl ketone (64-85 %), whereas they dropped to 10-30% for a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds bearing alkyl groups in a- or p-position such as ethyl crotonate, isophorone and methyl methacrylate 141). In none of these reactions was formation of carbene dimers observed. 7>ms-benzalaceto-phenone was cyclopropanated stereospecifically in about 50% yield PdCl2 and palladium(II) acetylacetonate were less efficient catalysts 34 >. Diazoketones may be used instead of diazoesters, as the cyclopropanation of acrylonitrile by diazoacenaph-thenone/Pd(OAc)2 (75 % yield) shows142). 

In reactions closely related to the carbonylation processes described above, the dimeric azoarene palladium complexes (78) can be transformed efficiently in two steps into 3-imino-2-phenylindazolines (Scheme 95).162... 

The ruthenium-, rhodium-, and palladium-catalyzed C-C bond formations involving C-H activation have been reviewed from the reaction types and mechanistic point of view.135-138 The activation of aromatic carbonyl compounds by transition metal catalyst undergoes ortho-alkylation through the carbometallation of unsaturated partner. This method offers an elegant way to activate C-H bond as a nucleophilic partner. The rhodium catalyst 112 has been used for the alkylation of benzophenone by vinyltrimethylsilane, affording the monoalkylated product 110 in 88% yield (Scheme 34). The formation of the dialkylated product is also observed in some cases. The ruthenium catalyst 113 has shown efficiency for such alkylation reactions, and n-methylacetophenone is transformed to the ortho-disubstituted acetophenone 111 in 97% yield without over-alkylation at the methyl substituent. 

Additional examples of palladium-catalyzed cross-couplings, in particular with allenylzinc compounds, can be found elsewhere [11, 15, 36]. A systematic study comparing several chiral palladium phosphine catalysts in the reaction of 4,4-di-methyl-1,2-pentadienylzinc chloride and iodobenzene revealed that an enantiomeric excess of only 25% was obtained from the best catalyst combination PdCl2 and (R,R)-DIOP [15]. The synthetic value of these transformations of donor-substituted allenes as precursors is documented by the preparation of a/l-unsaturatcd carbonyl... 

Oxidative carbonylations have acquired a growing importance during the last few years, owing to the development of new and selective catalytic systems, mainly based on palladium, which are able to promote ordered sequences of transformations under mild conditions with formation of highly functionalized carbonyl compounds in one step starting from very simple building blocks. 

The transformation of alcohols to the corresponding carbonyl compounds or carboxylic acids is one of the few examples in which a heterogeneous (solid) catalyst is used in a selective, liquid phase oxidation (7,2). The process, which is usually carried out in an aqueous slurry, with supported platinum or palladium catalysts and with dioxygen as oxidant, has limited industrial application due to deactivation problems. 

The transformations of o-iodoalkenylbenzenes in the presence of CO and palladium catalysts may involve either carbonylative cylization, or intramolecular Heck reaction, as well as a number of intramolecular pathways leading to oligomeric byproducts. Non-carbonylative pathways can be reasonably suppressed by applying elevated pressures of GO. Under such conditions, the products are formed in good yields, and the predominant termination stage is Pd hydride / -elimination to form exo-cycWc double bond (Equation (27)). 

In the process of carbonyl insertion the 1,1 migratory insertion of the coordinated CO ligand into the metal-carbon bond results in the formation of a metal-acyl complex (Figure 1-7). This process, as nearly all elementary steps discussed so far, is reversible, but even when using atmospheric CO pressure the equilibrium is mostly shifted towards insertion. In the process of insertion a vacant coordination site is also produced on the metal, where further reagents might be attached. Of the metals covered in this book palladium is by far the most frequently utilized in such transformations. 

Oxidation with Palladium in the Homogeneous Phase. The most thoroughly studied reaction concerning the transformation of alkenes to carbonyl compounds is their oxidation catalyzed by palladium in homogeneous aqueous media.243 244 494-503 As a rule, ethylene is oxidized to acetaldehyde, and terminal alkenes are converted to methyl ketones.504 505... 

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